Wilfrid Brambell

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Henry Wilfrid Brambell (born March 22, 1912 in Dublin , † January 18, 1985 in London ) was an Irish actor .

life and career

Brambell from Dublin has been on the theater stage since childhood and played at the famous Abbey Theater in his hometown in the 1920s . In the early 1930s he moved to London, where he continued his acting career in the theater.

Brambell made his film debut in 1947 in a minor supporting role in the 1947 film Expelled by Carol Reed . In the 1950s he got many roles on British television, but his cinema roles remained small and sparse. Brambell was first known to a wide audience in Great Britain from 1962 through the television series Steptoe and Son . In the sitcom , which ran for over 12 years with interruptions , he played the cynical and weird scrap collector Albert Steptoe , who regularly engaged in tragicomic rivalries with his son, played by Harry H. Corbett . There were also two movies with Steptoe and Son.

Brambell had probably his best-known role on the big screen as the eccentric grandfather of Paul McCartney in the Beatles film Yeah Yeah Yeah (A Hard Day's Night) from 1964. At 52 years of age, Brambell was only 28 years older than his "grandson" McCartney, but the skinny character actor generally played characters significantly older than himself. After the end of Steptoe and Son , the role offers for Brambell increasingly diminished, especially since he was very committed to the role of Steptoe and developed alcohol problems. Brambell played his last role in 1984 in the adventure film Camelot - The Curse of the Golden Sword , a year later he died of cancer at the age of 72.

In his old age, Brambell was considered a rather difficult and lonely person who had the self-image of a dandy . The fact that he was unable to live out his homosexuality openly and was arrested at least once for visiting a door contributed to the difficulties . His only marriage to a woman failed in the 1950s when she had a child with the shared lodger.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1947: Launched ( Odd Man Out )
  • 1954: His Greatest Trial ( The Green Scarf )
  • 1960: Urge to Kill
  • 1962: The Adventures of Captain Grant ( In Search of the Castaways )
  • 1962–1964: Steptoe and Son (TV series, 57 episodes)
  • 1963: The Gehetzte of Soho ( The Small World of Sammy Lee )
  • 1964: The three lives of Thomasina ( The Three Lives of Thomasina )
  • 1964: Yeah Yeah Yeah ( A Hard Day's Night )
  • 1968: The Witch Hunter ( Witchfinder General )
  • 1969: childhood, vocation and first experiences of the Venetian Giacomo Casanova ( Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze die Giacomo Casanova, veneziano )
  • 1969: Carry On Again Doctor ( Carry On Again Doctor )
  • 1972: Harold and the Stripper ( Steptoe & Son )
  • 1973: You Ride Again ( Steptoe and Son Ride Again )
  • 1973: A crazy trip on the Wahnsinnsbus ( Holiday on the Buses )
  • 1978: The Adventures of Mr. Picasso ( Picasso's aventyr )
  • 1980: how do you hide a donkey? ( High Rise Donkey )
  • 1984: Death and Transfiguration´ (short film, part of the " Terence Davies Trilogy")
  • 1984: Camelot - The Curse of the Golden Sword ( Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilfrid Brambell | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved August 13, 2020 (American English).
  2. ^ BFI Screenonline: Brambell, Wilfrid (1912-1985) Biography. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Wilfrid Brambell | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved August 13, 2020 (American English).
  4. ^ BFI Screenonline: Brambell, Wilfrid (1912-1985) Biography. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  5. ^ BFI Screenonline: Brambell, Wilfrid (1912-1985) Biography. Retrieved August 13, 2020 .
  6. ^ Wilfrid Brambell, In Profile. In: British Classic Comedy. May 5, 2019, accessed August 13, 2020 (UK English).
  7. ↑ The tortured world of Steptoe and Son. August 19, 2002, accessed on August 13, 2020 .
  8. ↑ The tortured world of Steptoe and Son. August 19, 2002, accessed on August 13, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Brambell, Wilfrid
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH January 18, 1985
Place of death London